Liber Challenge - The Lernaean Brotherhood

[Perth]

Hey all! This is my attempt at creating a scouring era group of Alpha Legionnaires for the current Liber Challenge. Any comments or suggestions or proclamations of heresy are greatly appreciated.

The Lernaean Brotherhood

An Alpha Legion Cataphractii Terminator, demonstrating the color scheme maintained by the Brotherhood.

Origins:

According to official records, as the Ultramarines legion surrounded the planet of Eskrador during the period known as the Scouring, the entrenched Alpha legion prepared to meet them in open battle. In either a stroke of genius or a foolish mistake, Roboute Guilliman rushed the Alpha Legion stronghold with his most elite troops, attempting to assassinate Alpharius and disorganize the traitor legion. Although Guilliman did kill who was thought to be Alpharius, the legion did not break as expected. Estoc Inferus, and the other members of Alpharius's honor guard and Alpha Legion reinforcements engaged the now fleeing Ultramarines with unexpected determination, inflicting near total losses before Guilliman and what remained of his forces escaped into orbit and began preparations to annihilate the planet from orbit. A significant number of Alpha Legion escaped however, scattering themselves throughout the stars aboard numerous ships of every size. The battle barge Omicron used its powerful teleporters to bring Inferus, along with seven other members of the honor guard and a significant number of Terminator Veterans on board before fleeing the system.

Command Structure:

Estoc Inferus and the six remaining members of Alpharius's honor guard make up the Brotherhood's commanding body, which has been dubbed the Serpent's Council and it's members referred to as Serpent Lords. The ranking between the seven members of the Serpent's Council is both complex and fluid. Each member holds a different rank among the group in numerous facets of operation. For example, Inferus currently holds the highest rank in military actions utilizing purely Terminators, is ranked third in military actions involving the use of companies of human soldiers, fifth in fleet actions and first in combined arms warfare. Each available Serpent Lord is given full authority over the use of his particular skill set, unless vetoed by no less than three other council members or his two immediate subordinates. In matters of which the Serpent's Council does not have sufficient knowledge, a senior officer from outside the council is given the first rank. For example, the Master of the Forge is ranked first in both matters of maintenance of the fleet elements, as well as the production of new weapons and armor, despite not being a Serpent Lord proper. Even in this case, the decisions of the first ranked marine are subject to the veto of the Serpent Lords. These ranks even extend beyond the Serpent's Council all the way down to the human elements of the Brotherhood, although only the Serpent Lords know the full extent of the chain of command.

Bases of Operation:

Immediately prior to the battle of Eskrador, the Battle Barge Omicron served as the sole seat of power for the Lernaean Brotherhood. It was unanimously agreed by the Serpent's Council however that such a position was too precarious and moved immediately to establish a network of hidden bases capable of sustaining the Brotherhood. Over the next few months the Brotherhood established numerous small installations hidden away in asteroid belts or on the surfaces of death worlds across all corners of the galaxy, although with the highest concentration being in the galactic south and east. Most of these installations are equipped to arm and train the human operatives of the Brotherhood, while most Marine activity is handled aboard the Omicron or one of the several captured cruisers under Lernaean control.

Composition:

The flagship of the Lernaean Brotherhood remains the Gloriana Class Battle Barge Omicron, although pirate raiding actions against other ships has substantially increased the size of the Lernaean fleet. In particular, the Brotherhood has captured three Exorcist Class Cruisers, which have been equipped to produce, train and equip new Space Marines for the Lernaens, while also serving as fringe raiding vessels. The largest contributors to the fleet however are numerous civilian cargo craft, meticulously modified with hidden weapons, flight bays, or even teleporters to catch targets by surprise.

The elite of the Brotherhood have little use for slow, armored ground vehicles, although the armory does maintain a single Fellblade and a few Sicarian, Predator and Rhino pattern tanks. Human and combined arms battle companies however make use of nearly every standard pattern vehicle used by the Imperial Guard, with a focus on the numerous variants of the Valkyrie dropship due to the platform's speed, adaptability and ease of maintenance. Storm Eagle, Fire Raptor and Thunderhawk pattern craft are used as well, although only by more elite forces comprised entirely of Space Marines.

The pinnacle of the military might of the Lernaean Brotherhood lies in it's Terminator armor equipped Space Marines. Over one hundred veteran brothers strong, each clad in near impregnable Cataphractii Terminator armor and equipped with the finest weapons available. These warriors form the vanguard of the most key battles undertaken by the Brotherhood, often teleporting directly into the heart of the enemy ranks to shatter their chain of command, allowing their power armored brothers and human soldiers to easily finish the fighting against a now disorganized foe.

The number of power armored Space Marines in the service of the Brotherhood is in constant fluctuation, however most estimates put the general number to be in the vicinity of only a few hundred, but steadily increasing. This is not only due to the rather small amount of power armored Alpha Legionnaires that were aboard the Omicron when the vessel was forced to flee Eskrador, but also due to the incredibly selective nature of the recruitment process. Before the Lernean Brotherhood will invest it's limited resources to create a new battle brother, the prospective marine must first prove his worth in the service of the Brotherhood as a human, usually on the battlefield as a member of a human battle company. After being deemed worthy, the subject is tested for compatibility with the Alpha Legion geneseed. If compatible, the trainee is then placed in a squad with four others and rigorously tested over the period of a year. Prospects pass or fail at the squad level, reinforcing the sense of unity over individuality throughout the Brotherhood. Only after this are the prospects allowed to undergo the augmentations to make them full battle brothers.

Despite the strength and skill of the Lernaean Brotherhood's Space Marines, the most powerful military force of the Brotherhood is comprised of unaugmented humans. Numbering in the millions, these humans make up the vast majority of the Brotherhood's spy network, serve as crew for the fleet, conduct supply raids as well as serving as line troops on the open battlefield. The Lernaean human soldiers are trained by Space Marine veterans of the Great Crusade, making them generally more skilled and disciplined than their Imperial Guard counterparts, if not as well equipped.

Order of Operations:

The Lernaean Brotherhood focuses on creating masterful ambushes and misdirection using both information gathered by their massive spy network and diversionary battlefield tactics. All elements of a Lernaean task force are usually exceptionally mobile or deployed via mass teleportation to maintain strategic initiative.

In a typical planetary raid situation, human elements, lead by a handful of Space Marines, engage a high priority location such as a prominent city, either directly or though terror attacks, to act as a diversion and draw defenses away from the primary target, whatever that may be. The real goal is then accomplished by a massive teleportation deployment of Space Marines and Terminators, catching the defenders off-guard and surrounded.

Recent History:

In late M36, Brotherhood spies learned of the Stormborn, a fledgling Space Marine Chapter created during the 21st founding. Just large enough to operate independently from their parent Chapter, the entirety of the Stormborn Chapter was contained on a single Battle Barge. Plans were immediately set in motion to track the movements of this young chapter and the entirety of the Marine forces of the Brotherhood were gathered for an ambush in the void.

When the trap was sprung, the young Stormborn suddenly found themselves vastly out experienced, out equipped and out numbered. With communications jammed and escape impossible, the Stormborn fought with fury that surprised even the veteran Lernaeans, but it was ultimately futile. The young chapter was killed to a man, its Marines and serfs all replaced by members of the Brotherhood.

The Stormborn, later renamed to the Stormborn Brotherhood, has grown to full size and is highly active in Imperial Space as of late M41. Using slave stock to grow enough Raven Guard geneseed to pay their tithe to the Adeptus Mechanicus and sizable contributions to local campaigns has kept the Lernaeans undetected by the Imperium.

The shadow war against the Ultramarines and their successors continues, fought by the Brotherhood's human soldiers and lead by a handful of veteran Astartes. For security, communication between the two Brotherhoods is rare, with each acting independently from the other.

Notable Characters:

Estoc Inferus: The most senior surviving member of Alpharius's honor guard, Inferus is currently the highest ranking Serpent Lord in regards to most military matters and is generally regarded as the first among equals within the Serpent's Council.

The lost Honor Guard: When Inferus and the remaining Honor Guard were teleported from the surface of Eskrador, he had seven brothers with him. However, after materializing aboard the Omicron, only six remained in his company. Records show that the seventh brother was teleported to another location, although there is no indication as to where.

[Perth]

Progress! 

 

Really needs some formatting to look nice, can anyone recommend a good template? 

 

Also, what do you think I need to add more on? Are there things I should cover less? All comments are greatly appreciated.